Molybdenum Nanoscrews: A Novel Non-coinage-Metal Substrate for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering
D. An, Y. Shen, J. Wen, Z. Zheng, J. Chen, J. She, H. Chen, S. Deng and N. Xu
Nano-Micro Letters 9: 2 (2016)
For the first time, Mo nanoscrew was cultivated as a novel non-coinage-metal substrate for surface-enhanced
Raman scattering (SERS). It was found that the nanoscrew is composed of many small screw threads stacking along its
length direction with small separations. Under external light excitation, strong electromagnetic coupling was initiated
within the gaps, and many hot-spots formed on the surface of the nanoscrew, which was confirmed by high-resolution
scanning near-field optical microscope measurements and numerical simulations using finite element method. These hotspots
are responsible for the observed SERS activity of the nanoscrews. Raman mapping characterizations further revealed
the excellent reproducibility of the SERS activity. Our findings may pave the way for design of low-cost and stable SERS
substrates.